


Day Two Hundred Fifty-Three || ___ was Here

by 365daysofsasuhina



Series: 365 Days of SasuHina 2019 [253]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 21:08:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20607338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/365daysofsasuhina/pseuds/365daysofsasuhina
Summary: When Sasuke dips his toes into a long-forgotten multiplayer game, he stumbles upon someone vaguely familiar...





	Day Two Hundred Fifty-Three || ___ was Here

It’s sort of like...a guilty pleasure thing. After all, it’s not typically something his style. More something for kids, if anything. Sure, he played it for a bit when he was younger, and his brother even got in on it at some points. But...well, Itachi is in college now, and Sasuke is making his way through high school. It’s difficult enough to navigate without self-sabotaging. If you admit to liking the wrong things, it gets you mocked, and...well, no one needs that on top of the social pressures people their age are already facing.

But...it’s making a bit of a resurgence lately. Online it’s popping up all over again, and somehow has even been weedling its way into his recommended. He can’t even _remember_ the last time he watched something about it - update reviews, mod guides, let’s plays.

But eventually, he gives in, digs up his old account information, downloads the latest version...and plays Minecraft for the first time in years.

It’s...just like how he remembers. A burst of childhood nostalgia fills his chest like a balloon, and Sasuke finds himself lost for hours on that Saturday as he reacquaints himself with a game that once consumed him and a few friends.

And then, like some kind of conspiracy, he finds something in the hallway the next Monday at school. An innocent little paper tacked up on the wall. On it is a kind of advertisement for a server one of the kids set up. It’s all anonymous, letting the first fifty players on for free for a multiplayer server to meet in secret. No one will know who anyone else is. Just a way to enjoy the game without letting on who you are.

One ninja-like picture on his phone later, Sasuke has the server information, practically running home to sign on.

By some grace, he’s one of the first fifty, the server already rather heavily populated. Tomoe16 joins, and no one is the wiser. No one knows it’s him. He’s just another anonymous user behind a screen and a username.

He never had the chance to do something like this back when the game was first popular. He’d lan-connected with Itachi many times, but neither had any servers to join. He’d always wanted to, but...well, then it faded out of the mainstream, and it was a ‘game for kids’ he could no longer find an excuse to play.

But now...here he is.

And first thing is first: time to find a place to claim as his base. Wandering out from spawn, he finds most good places already taken, marked by signs with usernames attached. And given his adherence to self-imposed honor systems, he makes no attempts to steal. He’ll just...find a better spot.

Through plains and forests and even a desert he meanders, trying to decide on a place, when he happens to stumble upon a jungle biome. And it seems no one else is here yet…!

Blinking at his screen, Sasuke grins. Well...this will be the perfect place to make a treehouse base…! Breaking down a few smaller trees, he maps out his spot, claiming it with plenty of signs so no one encroaches.

And with that...he starts building.

He never actually made a base like this before, when he played as a kid. So in reality, he has very little idea as to what he’s doing. At least, for the most part, everything _feels_ the same. He might be a little out of practice, but the basics are picked up again well enough, still mostly reflexive even after so much time.

Selecting a nice tall tree, he gets to work putting up ladders to build the floors, plans already forming for better staircases later. For now, he needs at least someplace to get up and away from the dark ground...and the mobs that will spawn later. Already he’s figured out that things seem a bit tougher in that regard than they once were. Or...maybe he’s just out of the loop.

Putting up a railing to keep himself from falling off the edge, Sasuke pauses in his building as he...notices something.

...someone’s here.

They’re a small distance away, hopping through the terrain and looking to just be exploring. Watching to see what they’re up to, Sasuke witnesses as they come upon one of his signs, looking up and spotting him on his current balcony.

Unsure, he gives a few rapid crouches as a sign of peace.

...they do the same. Another look to his sign, and then they move to another small tree nearby. Breaking blocks and crafting, they...leave a sign next to it? And then just...keep on their way.

Sasuke perks a brow, watching as the other player disappears. Well that was...odd. What did they…? Abandoning his base for a moment (and quickly, given it’s nearly dark), he finds the front of their sign.

_Hinata was here_

...wait, is this someone’s username? Or their _name_ name? Because honestly, it sounds like the latter. Isn’t the point to remain anonymous? Well...maybe this person doesn’t care. But the name sounds...vaguely familiar. Maybe he’s run into them at some point at school. Theirs is a large one, so it’s more than possible he doesn’t even know most of the people in here.

He’ll have to poke around at school tomorrow.

For now, he leaves the sign be - it’s not in his way, and it’s a bit...nice to have proof of his first pseudo-interaction with another player. Maybe they’ll be back! And maybe he can find their base later and leave a revenge sign.

The sounds of an approaching zombie, however, mean he’s soon scampering back up his ladder and waiting out the night.

The next day at school, Sasuke tries racking his brain as to who Hinata might be. The name is infuriatingly familiar, he just...can’t quite place it!

“Yo, Sasuke!”

Jostling a bit as Naruto slings an arm over his shoulders, Sasuke gives the blond a glance. “What?”

“You look, like...super spacy today. You okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Just, uh…” How to explain without giving it away… “You know someone named Hinata?”

“Hinata?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

Er… “...ran across the name on a school forum last night, and it’s been bugging me. I swear I’ve heard it, just can’t place where.”

Naruto perks a brow. “Uh...the only one I know is Sakura’s friend. She’s sort of a weird, artsy student, I think? Does a lotta stuff like...theater, choir, art - that kinda thing. That who you’re thinking of?”

“Maybe…” It would explain why he’s heard the name in passing. “Guess that probably solves that.”

“Man, what were you doing on a school forum?”

“Bored,” Sasuke replies vaguely.

“I’d rather actually do my homework…”

“I’d already done that.”

Back at home that afternoon, once his assignments are done, Sasuke signs on, popping back into the server the same place he left: his treehouse.

He nearly chokes on his soda, however, when he sees the same player skin from before down below. It seems she’s afk, staring blankly in one direction without moving.

“...uh…” A bit put-off, Sasuke moves his fingers over the mouse and keys to join her. Hers is just a typical feminine skin you can find online somewhere: dark hair and a weird outfit, complete with a flower crown. After nudging her to no avail, Sasuke makes a sign, putting it next to hers.

_Do you know Sakura?_

As he waits for her to return (putting protective blocks around her in case night falls before she’s back), Sasuke gets his little farm started nearby. When he hears breaking dirt blocks, he turns to find her digging her way out of his little ‘fort’, and looking at the sign.

Her skin then turns to him, and...nods. Placing another sign, she asks, _Do you?_

Another sign. _Yeah._

_Are you a boy or girl?_

_Boy. You?_

_Girl. Do you know Naruto?_

_...yeah._

She turns to look at him, and he braces himself for the reveal.

_...I think I know who you are. Nice to know someone here._

...huh. Not what he expected.

_Yeah, getting back into it._

_I never stopped, lol_

Sasuke laughs behind his screen. One of those types, huh? _You’ll have to show me new stuff. I’m so lost haha_

_Sure! I made a base to the east...sorry._

_Nah, that’s fine. Nice to have a neighbor._

_Maybe we can find pandas!_

_...there’s pandas?_

_...I’ve got a lot to teach you :D_

_Can’t wait._

**Author's Note:**

> This is...super random (and a day late OTL), but I actually kinda like it xD I'm one of those nerds like Hinata that never really fell out of playing Minecraft...and idk, the sign idea just came to me! Sasuke would totally be one of those people that's like, "psh, it's a game for kids" but secretly loves it lol
> 
> Anyway, I had a LONG day yesterday, hence being late...and just as a warning, my life might be having a HUGE upheaval soon, so...there might be a lot of that here soon, and probably some time where I won't be able to post at all due to not having net. I'm a bit in the dark as to that part, and...it's not a guaranteed thing yet, but! Just thought I'd give the heads up now. As things get a bit clearer I'll update y'all more, but if you see me struggling to keep up, life is just...very busy for me lately! I have every intention of finishing this challenge! It just...might not happen in perfectly daily posts, and might even have to extend past the end of the year, depending on how things go.
> 
> Speaking of, I've gotten quite a few comments about continuing some of these prompts, and yes, as a reminder, I DO plan on taking my favorites and expanding them! I just can't really do so now between life busyness, and doing the dailies. I also RP and write other fics in my limited spare time, so...those sort of projects I want to save for after THIS one is done, so I can instead devote my time I use for these daily posts to working on longer projects for you all. I just don't want to pile even MORE on my plate and burn out, so I hope you can hang in there with me until this challenge is done, and I can then work on expanding some of the more continuable stories for you all n_n
> 
> Anyway, speaking of being busy, I've got some irl things to do, but I'll try to be back tonight to do TODAY'S prompt, lol - thanks again as always for your patience, and for reading! <3


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